New Maserati baby Quattroporte coming in 2011, will take on Jaguar XFR

Details are scarce but it has been confirmed that Maserati’s new sub-Quattroporte four-door saloon will be launched in autumn next year. This sports saloon, which has long been anticipated, is the fourth model in the Maserati range that also includes the Granturismo sports car, the Grancabrio open-top GT and the Quattroporte large sports saloon.

This new model is expected to rival the BMW M5, the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and the Jaguar XFR. The carmaker has yet to provide information about its powertrains and platform; however, insiders say that it would be spun off the Alfa Romeo 166 replacement's platform.

It is believed that the vehicle will feature downsized V6 and V8 engines and an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. The new Quattroporte in 2012 will also have these specifications.

Fiat Centro Stile is being designed in-house under the leadership of Fiat's ex-Pininfarina design chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti. According to company insiders, this doesn’t indicate that Maserati's relationship with the design house has ended.

Maserati hasn’t yet determined where this model will be produced. Its Modena factory doesn’t have enough capacity and so it’s likely that production will be done at Bertone's Turin factory.

Maserati has previously described this car to be a new product package “with specific contents in order to exploit Maserati DNA.” It was also confirmed that the new sub-Quattroporte four-door saloon is priced at less than 55,000 euros. [via autocar]